SHEILD's Wings
by ksklus
Summary: When Max leaves the flock, SHIELD has a request. Will she accept? Bad summary, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I just felt like writing, and this is what came out. I don't own Maximum Ride or any other affiliated characters, same with Marvel, and the story cover.

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_Regrets collect like old friends_  
_ Here to relive your darkest moments_  
_ I can see no way, I can see no way_  
_ And all of the ghouls come out to play_

Shake It Out by Florence + the Machine

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The sky shook as droplets of water chased each other on the window of a sleek car. Inside was a girl with blonde hair, and electric blue eyes. The muscled driver looked back occasionally, as if she was going to do something dangerous. All she was doing was looking out the window at the blurred city lights. Buzz. Immediately the phone came to the driver's ear.

"You're on your way, I'm assuming?" A deep voice resonated.

"Yes, sir."

The girl's eyes flickered to the man's phone. It was small and black, as professional as could be. These people weren't to be messed with, but they could, in all possibility, mess with her. She'd been somewhere unwillingly before, but this time, she hadn't been kidnapped. They arrived at a tall building with a proud "STARK" at the top. She raised her eyebrows. "That's not conceited at all..." She stepped out of the small car, and scanned the area. There was yet another man in a suit approaching.

"Maximum Ride, come with me."

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Max's POV

He led me into the lobby of the skyscraper, everything expensive and pristine. After flashing his badge that said who-knows-what, we went into an elevator. Yet another glass area that I was likely to accidentally break. We both studied the walls awkwardly. Just to make it more awkward, I decided to hum the Mission Impossible theme.

For a split second, I swear I saw him give a teensy smile, but then it vanished into the professional mask.

Floor 32, floor 47, floor 61. In another few 10 seconds, we were at what I assumed to be the top floor. _Ding_. The glass doors opened to reveal a plush lounge.

"Hello again, Agent! I'm guessing you came to see my handsome self?" A man, with something glowing under his shirt, winked.

"I'm afraid not, Stark. This is Max," the agent gestured towards me, "and she'll be staying with you for a while."

My eyebrows zoomed up. He expected me to live with someone I barely knew, and, more importantly, cooperate? Yeah, right. I looked at the man who I was supposed to stay with now. His eyebrows had gone up into his hairline, too. Apparently both of us were surprised.

"Uh, I'm not sure that's the best idea..." I muttered, and at the same time, Stark spluttered. "Yet another thing Fury has forced on me? Not cool, bro."

I winced. Oh, God. He should never, ever say "bro" again.

A thin woman with red hair stepped into the room. Stark sighed. "Pepper, get another room ready. We have a guest." The woman, who I presumed to be Pepper, rolled her eyes, then gestured for me to follow her. We turned into another hallway, and passed a couple of doors. With a click, she opened the door to my new home sweet home. At least, for now.

Pressed against the wall was a huge sky blue bed, perfect for jumping. Next to it was a white side table with a clock on it. Matching the table, a white wardrobe was waiting to be used in the corner and a vanity sat beside it. I grinned, and looked to the door on the opposite midnight blue wall. I guessed that that was the bathroom.  
I looked back and realized that Pepper had left while I was studying the room. I shut the door delicately; I felt like I could break it with just a feather!

"Hello, Max. My name is Jarvis." I jumped and studied the room more closely, looking for the intruder.

"I am a voice interface. Mr. Stark created me, and I am here for your benefit." The ceiling was talking! In a British accent! As Nudge would say, ZOMG! I decided that it would be rude if I didn't respond, even if it was just a ceiling.

"Um, yeah, cool. What are you supposed to do?" I asked hesitantly.

"Mostly, I help Mr. Stark with things, but in simple words, I am your virtual butler."

Inside, I laughed. I could have fun with this. "Can you play music?"

In response, it replied almost smugly, "Of course." Instantly, soft music played, allowing me to think.

What was I thinking, coming here? A man had just come up to me, saying he was part of the government. That had immediately put me off. But then he offered me a job and a place to stay. Even more interestingly, the job required "abilities that no normal person would possess."

I was no normal person. I had freaking wings! If that didn't make me different, then I don't know what would. I still had no idea what this job exactly entailed. All I knew is that the Voice had told me, "Maximum, if you don't accept, your life will take a turn for the worse." But it already had. Fang had left. I knew that the Flock could function without me, maybe even a little bit better. When he wasn't making bombs, Iggy could be incredibly responsible. He would take care of them. Hopefully, Angel wouldn't try to take over the Flock again. I knew she was powerful, and that worried me sometimes.

I could be dangerous to them. Erasers had taken to me again. The last few months that I was with them were filled with blood and tears, because of me. Something had stirred in me, and I knew that it was time for change. I was getting more powerful. I could fly even faster, I could stay in the water without breathing for an hour longer, and strangely, my eyes had turned blue. I left, knowing that they would be better off. I told them that if they wanted to see me again, wait three years and meet me in New York.

It's been more than two years.

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Ta da! By the way, this is actually the first story that I've actually published, but I didn't that to turn people off in the summary. If you would like, read and review! If you review, I will most likely be a creeper and look at your profile. ^.^

That's all for now, lovelies!

-Katie


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Here's the second chapter, as requested by 'Pounce the Cat.' You are awesome for reviewing! Also, you probably see that I took your advice. When it was published, it messed up the spacing somehow, but I figured it out. Does it look better?

I think I'm going to continue to post on Wednesdays, so sorry if I don't!

Anyway, onto the story! I don't own Maximum Ride or any other affiliated characters, same with Marvel, and the story cover.

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_Maybe redemption has stories to tell_  
_Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell_  
_Where can you run to escape from yourself?_  
_Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?_

I Dare You to Move by Switchfoot

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Max's POV

My eyes opened as I slowly woke up. I hadn't even realized that I was tired before I laid down. The building was so tall, it was my natural habitat. I stood up and bent over to reach for my toes, stretching. For my morning exercise, I would always stretch, run, and fly, each one for about ten minutes.

Smiling, I opened the window. My nose wrinkled when I realized that this was most certainly not the woods. Oh well. I closed the window again and looked into the wardrobe.

Oh, God. It looked like Nudge herself had chosen clothes. Sighing, I chose a white tank top and an almost clear teal blouse and some ripped up jeans. I curved my back, relishing on how my back hadn't hurt after waking up.

The door opened into the hallway without a squeak. Remembering the layout from yesterday, I turned into the lounge-type-room.

Stark was in the kitchen. Well, this was going to be awkward. "Good morning," I croaked. Dang. That was not how I had planned my introduction. His somewhat blood-shot eyes flashed to me, and he replied, "Morning."

I was right. This was awkward.

"So, Max, mind telling me why you're living in my tower?"

This was going to be fun to answer. In case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm.

Suddenly, I found out that the floor was really a beautiful thing. "Uh...Fury didn't tell you?" I managed to come up with a response.

He responded, "Well, he did, but it wasn't an actual explanation."

"What did he tell you so far?" I questioned.

"That you're special, and didn't have a place to stay." At least he's got that right, but it wasn't much for him to on. I pursed my lips, wondering where to start. SHIELD could actually be trusted, despite what I believed before. If Fury trusted him, shouldn't I? But it's not as if I could just go out and say, "yeah, you know what he said about being special? Well, I sort of have wings."

Actually, why not? It's not as if I really care about what he thinks. Screw logic.

"Well, don't freak out on me, but... I have wings."

He stared at me for a second, and started laughing.

Ouch, he did not just do that. No one has ever laughed at me, Maximum Ride. Well, except for that one time, Fang and Iggy... but that's for another time.

I snapped my wings out. Then laughed at the look that he gave me.

"Whoa, can you, like, fly?" He asked, eyes still bugged out.

"Yeah, I can, like, fly," I laughed. Deciding to tell the rest of my story later, I grabbed a banana, some toast, and cereal. "So, who exactly are you and why does Fury trust you? Wel, no, he doesn't trust anyone, but, answer anyway," I corrected myself.

"You haven't heard of me? Oh, that's humbling..." He mumbled to himself, then answered, "I'm Tony Stark, Iron Man? Ring a bell? No? Fine. Well, since I fly around saving people, I guess that Fury deems me trustworthy." He ended the statement like a question.

"Oh! Yesterday Agent Coulson gave me this file to give to you. It's about the 'Avengers Initiative' thing." He picked up a plain manila file from the granite counter and handed it to me. I opened it.

The first thing that I saw was my picture and information. It read:

Maximum Ride

18 years old 5'8 genetically mutated 98% human 2% hawk Mother: Valencia Martinez Father: Jeb Batchelder

Skills:

fly/run at 300+ mph breath underwater 14 ft wingspan

Wow. I had never been made out to be so boring. Was that even possible? I shuffled through the rest of the papers. Next was a ginger, Natasha Romanov. Great. If Fang saw her, he'd be all over her, too. I flipped the page over too reveal another file. Bruce Banner. He looked nice enough... Apparently he could become quite angry, to say the least.

We all have our little quirks. Although his is not very little. Oh, I crack myself up. (AN - I actually did laugh to myself when I wrote that. I don't know why, it's not even that funny.) Going on, then.

Hawkeye, really? I bet I was more of a hawk that him. He didn't have freaking _wings_. All he did was shoots arrows for a living. And, Hawkeye for a nickname just sounds ridiculous.

Thor just seemed like when an Asian dude comes to America and makes everyone look dumb. Except, in physical abilities, not intelligence. (AN - I didn't know if Fury already knew that Thor was going to be in the Avengers, so tell me if I'm wrong)

Aw, poor Captain America. His story was just tragic, being torn from all he has ever known. But I knew the feeling, somewhat. Being away from the flock had changed me. Not that I wasn't mature before, it was just that I hadn't really joked as much anymore. Well, no, I'd just stopped saying it out loud. Now, I knew that I didn't have to please everyone at all times. I don't have to take full responsibility at all times.

Maybe I need to continue to grow before I can say that I fully understand the change.

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to review if you'd like, it's make my day like Pounce the Cat did:)

-Katie


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: Long AN's this chapter! Hello, lovelies! I would like to thank michlovescookies281 and EleanorGreen for reviewing, it encourages me to write more:) Also I'm so happy that Pounce the Cat, alexma, ilovewhitetigers, and purpleluva4eva for favoriting. ALSO, thanks to 123hereigo456, She Who Dreams of Tomorrow, Spitfire147, alexma, michlovescookies281, purpleluva4eva, EleanorGreen, TheLazyOtakuWithNoTime and verylexiful for following. I was really surprised with how much there was of feedback so thank y'all! All of you are great! I don't own Maximum Ride or any other affiliated characters, same with Marvel, and the story cover.

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_Don't fret, m'sieur, Marius __I don't feel any pain __a little fall of rain __can hardly hurt me now_

A Little Fall of Rain from Les Miserable

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Max's POV

The next day, I was carried of to SHIELD for training. Whatever that meant. I'd lived without training, so why did I have to then? Agent Coulson said it was to assess and polish my skills. Which would probably help, since my way of fighting isn't the most graceful.

We arrived at the base, with Coulson right by my side. Even though that didn't completely demolish the looks people gave me. Or, the lack of looks. Some of the people just had faces carved from stone. Geesh, what did they have up their butt? Didn't a young woman randomly come there everyday? Not a very mature one, granted, but a young woman nonetheless.

We seemed to walk for at least fifteen minutes. Maybe they should pass out maps. I would have to talk to Fury about that. Even my mental map turned into a bowl of spaghetti.

Finally, we reached the training room. It was more of like a huge gym. Everything you could imagine that you could work out with would be there, maybe even a little more. I was led to the end of the gym, where the outline of it didn't have anything there, so that you could run. I guessed that that was what I was going to be doing. Another agent - quite a fine one, too - took charge of me. Not in that way, you pervs. Coulson left, probably to do some mysterious agenty things.

The new agent took out a black stop watch. It seemed that everything here was black! I really needed a list of things to talk to Fury about. But, anyway, I lined up at a line. The agent introduce himself as Agent Thomson, (AN - okay, don't blame me for the boring name. I'm not very creative.) and told me that five times around the gym would be a mile, and he was timing me.

At GO, I was sprinting. I didn't use my power, no, that would be unfair and this was a test of endurance. After two laps, my breath was finally becoming ragged. That was better than a fit human, but I still wasn't too happy with myself. At four laps, my legs started to hurt. I really was out of shape, wasn't I? At last, I reached line for a fifth time. Immediately, the Thomson crushed the button.

"Four minutes, forty-four seconds."

I nodded my head, still moderately disappointed with my self.

"That's a new record."

I looked up, my brow furrowed. It wasn't that fast... then again, I wasn't fully human.

"Well, you haven't seen me fly," I said in reply, smirking. Then I realized the gym was empty, as if someone had planned for it to be, knowing that not everyone should know my secret. He raised his eyebrows for a split second, but I saw it.

My wings shot out of the leather suit they had squeezed me in, specially made so that my wings were concealed when they weren't in use. (AN - think Katniss in the leather fire costume, without all of the extra stuff) It was skin tight, but it was easy to move in, so I didn't mind. A belt hung at my hips. At any other time, it would be filled with knives and things, but I hadn't been taught those things yet.

When he saw my wings, his eyes widened, and for once, an expression actually stuck for a while. He clutched the stopwatch, and again, said GO.

I was off in a flash; a cheetah didn't have anything on me. Adrenalin pounded through my entire body, feeding the flame, and I went even faster. I raced around the room, and in twelve seconds(AN - I used a calculator), I was back at the start, my heart racing like a percussion major drumming. I smiled, and said, "Now THAT is a new record."

I stalked off, leaving the agent behind me to pick up his jaw. I smirked like the Cheshire cat. If I wasn't the most skilled, I could at least leave an impression.

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I know that wasn't the longest, but I couldn't think of a longer ending that was still good. Personally, I think this is my best written chapter yet. If you didn't notice, I like using metaphors.

Another thing, I would love to have a beta, because I don't think I'm the best writer, obviously. So, PM me if you would like to, it would really help.

Did anyone see Les Miserable? Spoilers alert! I loved it sooooo much, I want a dvd for my birthday, but it won't be out by then:( I think I cried like 5 times, and I never cry. My friends say that I'm heartless! I practically sobbed when Eponine died, but I adore her ending song. Then again, I sobbed when Javert died, when Enjolras died, and when Gavroche died. Just needed to say that.

I'll post again next Wednesday, as usual.

Katie


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